A scandal shakes the SPD of the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
At least nine women who attended the traditional summer party reserved for party members were victims of the so-called "rape drug".
The condemnation by the leaders of the Social Democrats was very harsh, who spoke of a "monstrous act" and made it clear that they had immediately reported the incident to the police.
The case, which was reported by the Berlin daily Tagesspiegel, dates back to last Wednesday.
About a thousand people took part in the party, organized in the chancellery before the parliamentary break, including Scholz, along with many deputies and their collaborators.
The next day, the police announced that they had received a complaint from a 21-year-old girl, who did not remember anything.
She only reported that she had consumed food and soft drinks, and that she felt sick, with nausea and dizziness.
At that point, an investigation was opened against unknown persons for serious personal injuries and in the meantime there were reports of at least 8 other cases, the SPD reported.
According to German media, the victims ingested so-called 'KO drops', a tasteless liquid drug that easily mixes with drinks that gives a range of harmful effects, from short-term memory loss to fainting.
They are used by attackers mainly for sexual abuse, but also for theft.
For the leaders of the SPD it was "a shock".
"It makes me angry that such a thing could happen in an event organized" by the party, underlined the co-leader (along with Scholz) Lars Klingbeil, hoping that those responsible are arrested and prosecuted as soon as possible.
A spokesperson confirmed that the party was reserved for party members and could only be attended by invitation.
Adding little else, except that "there are still few certainties" and that "the police are investigating".
According to the Berliner Zeitung, 22 cases of assaults with rape drugs were registered by the police last year in the German capital.
Their actual number, however, may be higher, as many victims have very little memory of the attack or are ashamed to report.
Precisely for this reason, an official of the parliamentary group of the SPD, Katja Mast, invited those who attended the party to come forward.
Not excluding that the victims at the party in the chancellery could be many more.